Weekend Plains Blizzard

A major storm with snow will swing from the Colorado Rockies to the northern Plains and the Upper Midwest this weekend.

Some areas will experience blizzard conditions from northwestern Nebraska to west-central Minnesota.

The storm will hit the Rockies during the first part of the weekend. Up to half a foot of snow will fall on the Wasatch Range and the various ranges in Colorado and Wyoming.

Only a small amount of snow is forecast for Denver, but plunging temperatures later in the day can lead to icy spots.

The storm will ramp up late Saturday and Saturday night.

Cities from Scottsbluff and Valentine, Neb., to Pierre, Mitchell and Huron, S.D., Fargo, N.D., and Moorhead, Minn., are in store for several hours of windswept snow, poor visibility and dangerous travel conditions. Many areas within this swath will pick up between half a foot and a foot of snow.

Travel along long stretches of I-29, I-80, I-90 and I-94 will be treacherous.

An area of ice will be the cause of dangerous travel over southeastern Minnesota and much of Wisconsin Sunday.

Rain is in store farther south over much of eastern Nebraska, eastern Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri and states farther south.

While most of the moisture will fall north or east of the winter wheat belt, significant snow will reach needy areas of the northern Plains and the central High Plains.

Locally strong thunderstorms are in store over part of the Mississippi Delta to northeastern Texas.

A plunge of colder air will follow the storm over the Rockies, Plains and the Upper Midwest.